Not long after the biggest upset of 2012 thus far, Jamie Varner figured he might as well strike while the iron’s hot.

Varner (20-6-1- MMA, 2-1 UFC) next week meets Joe Lauzon (21-7 MMA, 8-4 UFC) to open up the main card of UFC on FOX 4 in Los Angeles. It’s a fight Varner signed on for just a month ago after Terry Etim fell off with an injury.

But after not only upsetting Edson Barboza at UFC 148 in May, but handing him his first loss with a stunning first-round TKO, Varner said he’s ready for another opportunity to climb up the lightweight ladder.

“It just seemed like another golden opportunity,” Varner on Monday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s a win-win situation just like the Edson Barboza fight. One, it’s short-notice, and two it’s another guy arguably in the top 15 in the world. I’m supposed to lose to a guy like Joe Lauzon.

“But if I go out there and I beat Joe Lauzon, it catapults my career once again. I take another big step forward. It would put me right in the mix of top 10 guy, and my fight next could be a No. 1 contender fight. There’s everything to gain, and really nothing to lose.”

Varner, a former lightweight champion in the WEC, had a rough go of it under the Zuffa banner in 2010. He lost his title to Benson Henderson, had a draw with Kamal Shalorus that he’d have lost had Shalorus not lost a point for groin kicks, lost to nemesis Donald Cerrone, then was tapped out by Shane Roller in the WEC’s final event – in front of his home Phoenix fans.

He wasn’t retained by Zuffa to move over from the WEC to the UFC. But after a 3-1 run outside the promotion, he filled in on short notice for Evan Dunham to face Barboza – and then stunned just about everyone with his TKO victory. Everyone, that is, but himself.

“I expected to win,” Varner said. “I know I was the underdog, but I don’t fight guys I don’t think I can beat. I was just more happy that I got the second chance (in the UFC) and I was able to make the most of it. That was probably the thing that made me the most excited, not so much the guy I beat and the win, but the fact I made the most of the opportunity.”

Against Lauzon, Varner gets another dangerous opponent. But after taking on Barboza and marching right through him, Varner said he remains confident in his skills and believes he can beat anyone.

Lauzon has seven fight night bonus awards in his past nine bouts – including four for “Submission of the Night.” But he’s coming off a head-kick knockout loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC 144 in February and looking for a rebound win. With the knockout loss a recent memory, and with his ground prowess, it would be easy to assume he’ll want to take Varner to the canvas and steer clear of the hands that put away Barboza. But Varner isn’t positive that will be the case.

“The funny thing about Joe is, people talk about his grappling, but he’s got this hard left hook that he’s dropped a lot of people with and hurt a lot of people with,” Varner said. “He does hit hard on the feet, and his ground-and-pound is really vicious. Joe has a lot of ways to win. As far as being as dynamic and as scary as Edson Barboza, I’d say he’s not. Edson Barboza is just so athletic and fast. But Joe has more ways to win.”

But Varner still harbors title aspirations, and believes a win over Lauzon can help get him there. The fact he gets a shot at it on a nationally televised FOX card is a big bonus.

“I remember when I was 21 fighting at UFC 62, and there were only 12 events a year,” Varner said. “Now there’s 30 shows a year, and it’s on network TV. It’s crazy how far the sport has gone and how much it’s grown and how much respect it’s gotten.

“I want to make the most of this second chance with the UFC – and fighting on Fox, I can’t even put it into words. It’s such an opportunity to catapult myself and my career.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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